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So we’ve written a play. It’s one-act play, and kind of a meta-thing.

It’s called I’ll Know It When I See It.

Here’s the script:

CLIENT: We need to do a brand refresh. Do you do that? Do you do brand refreshes?

DESIGNER, COPYWRITER, OR OTHERWISE “CREATIVE” TYPE (henceforth to be referred to as DCOOO“C”T): Oh, yeah. We’re pros. Just fill out our proprietary “Creative Brief” worksheet, so we can get a better idea of what exactly you’re looking for.

CLIENT: Stellar. What we really need is a logo that pops. And we want it to be really edgy, which is why we came to you.

Weeks, months, and sometimes years pass.

DCOOO“C”T: We think we’ve really nailed it on this round. Really edgy in just the right way—can somebody get this projector to work?

Weeks, months, and sometimes years pass.

CLIENT: Logos 2, 7, and 32 are getting there. But they don’t really say “integrity,” “trust,” or “innovation,” and they’re a little too trendy-feeling. We want less “in your face” and more “edge.” Do you know what I mean?

Weeks, months, and sometimes years pass. The show goes on forever. Seriously. For. Fucking. Ever.

. . .

The other name for this play is Deja-Vu, and it’s a meta-play because it’s being performed right now at creative agencies all over the world by people who aren’t even acting. In fact, it’s the longest running show on Madison Avenue, even though we wrote it just now.

The problem with “edgy” is that it doesn’t mean anything. Which is not to say that people don’t mean anything when they say it. Of course they do. It’s just that “edgy” means different things to different people, so as a piece of creative direction it’s useless. Or worse, it’s an epic wild-goose chase, which ends with you getting your ass kicked by a goose that doesn’t even exist.

When someone asks you for “edgy”, what they really mean is, “I’ll know it when I see it.” Which is no way to start a project.

It’s worth noting that “edgy” comes in many disguises. Sometimes it’s called “trendy” or “in your face” or “fresh” or any number of subjective things.

No matter the words they use, the client’s gonna need some help turning all those abstractions into things you can work with. And if you do that, you’ll help close the curtain on our tired little play. Take a bow.

02/26/07 by Axel Albin

This entry was posted on Monday, February 26th, 2007 at 9:59 am and is filed under Thinking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.